The news keeps getting better

Tests on the fluid the drained came back with no cancer cells. Very good news. Mom has been home for 5 or 6 days.

Mom saw the oncologist today.

He was not any where near as pessimistic as the pulmonary guy. In fact he trashed the pulmonary department at St Frances as a bunch of gloom and doomers who are 15 years behind on cancer treatment.

He said she has more time for more treatments and gave her a vitamin B12 shot which she is convinced gave her more energy. In fact, she even went out to dinner for the first time in weeks.

The next round of chemo will be with drugs the oncologist said are easier to tolerate. Neither Phil nor mom remembered the name of them, but I'll find out.

Anyway, no one is giving up.

Joshua

Into the hospital

Mom saw the pulmonary doctor the other day. The only good news is that she likes him. He seems to actually understand what it takes to be a good doctor and to treat patients well.

As for the disease: She will go into St Francis hospital tomorrow, Friday, to have fluid drained. She'll be in teh hospital til Tuesday.

As for the chemo and radiation, none of it seemed to work. The tumor has not gotten any smaller.

Mom's pretty exhausted and this was a big blow. We were sure she was getting better and the problems were jsut the side effects of the treatments. The other good news is there will be no moree side effects. Traditional treatments are over. Now the search begins for alternatives.

Joshua

Pneumonia

Phil went with Mom to the doctor yesterday. It turns out it was just about the pneumonia. They didn't really get into the cancer.
There is a "blockage" in the lung. Whether it is another tumor or scar tissue or something else is unclear. It seems to be related to the pneumonia.
Next steps: Pulmonologist next Tuesday, June 13 and then the oncologist again on the 17th. Most likely a bronchocopy somewhere in there too.
Mom's feeling lousy and frustrated. Everything seems to take so long and the answers are never clear.
When your diagniosed with your cancer you want to move quickly, to get started on treatments, to beat it. And the doctors all seem to take their time. You get in line and wait your turn. You have tests in a week or two and then more tests a week or two later to clarify what the first tests didn't. As you battle for your life the doctors seem to just run thier businesses jsut like any other business, except less efficiently. There is no concern for the stakes involved. Some doctors are better at expressing concern, but they are all so busy they jsut fit you in when they can. 'Cause they have long lists of patients and the stakes are high for all of them.

Joshua

A Different Kind of Cough

Mom's been feeling pretty lousy for a week or two now. Exhausted, though she did come in 2nd with Nehama in a duplicate bridge tournament. Coughing more than she had been, although it seemed to be a different kind of cough.

Today was her CAT Scan. They called her donctor immediately afterward to let him know she had pneumonia! Good news and bad. It certainly explains the different cough and some of the exhaustion. Of course her immune system isn't exactly at the top of its game right now. But let's face it, antibiotics beat chemo anyday of the week.

So this Monday she will go for the PET Scan in the morning and will meet with her doctor in the afternoon. That means she won't have to wait another week for results. Monday afternoon we will know if all the treatments worked.

For those of you that pray, Mom's Hebrew name is Sarah bat Malcha.

Hopefully I'll be posting good news next week.

Joshua